Timing's bad for Getzlaf

Injury may cost him an Olympic spot

ANAHEIM — The timing couldn’t be much worse for Ryan Getzlaf and Team Canada.

On Monday the Anaheim Ducks centre rolled his ankle in a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, putting his Olympic tournament in jeopardy.

“I feel a lot better today actually,” Getzlaf said Tuesday. “(Monday) night was pretty ugly at times and painful, but the swelling reacted perfectly so there is not much swelling now. I’m going to get an MRI right now and we’ll go from there.”

Getzlaf, who leads the Ducks in scoring with 15 goals and 42 assists this season will most likely not be in the lineup Wednesday when the Ducks play host to the Edmonton Oilers. They, like the Oilers, have three more games before the Olympic break.

“I’m hopeful that I’ll be available for the Olympics, we’re far from ruling it out that’s for sure,” Getzlaf said. “I had a talk with (Steve) Yzerman already and he made it pretty clear that they were going to do everything they can to wait and make sure that it’s well.

“At the same time, he has to protect his team too. I’m definitely not going to play in a tournament that I’m not ready to play in, especially a tournament of that calibre. It’s a dream come true to play in a tournament like that and I’m going to do everything possible to be there.”

Getzlaf was one of three Ducks named to the Canadian Olympic team. Corey Perry and defenceman Scott Niedermayer were also selected to the squad. Canada opens the Olympic tournament on Feb. 16 against Norway. During the tournament, the NHL will take a hiatus returning to the ice in March.

“It’s not the best of timing, but things happen,” Perry said. “You can’t control those things, but hopefully it’ll be good news (Tuesday) and all he’ll require is a little bit of treatment and away we go. That’s all we can hope for.”

Getzlaf was injured six minutes into the second period Monday, shortly after scoring to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead in their contest with the Kings. He had to be helped off the ice.

“I just got tangled up with (Dustin) Brown on that play,” he said. “I kind of made a little pass back and ended up tucking my ankle underneath me and falling on it. I was scared, definitely with the way the play went and the way my ankle felt, it was definitely a scary time. (Monday) night was tough for me, but (Tuesday) morning it was looking really positive, and my meetings with the medical staff and our trainers went really well.”

Initial X-rays revealed no broken bones in Getzlaf's ankle.

He doesn’t consider it to be a high ankle sprain as the pain is lower in his foot.

Regardless, it’s unlikely he’ll be back with the Ducks before the Olympic break.

“It’s unfortunate that he twisted his ankle the way he did, but that’s part of sports and we’re going to move forward,” said Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle. “We’re going to be selfish in looking at it, because first and foremost we have games to play and we need points.

"When the break comes the Canadian Olympic team would love to have Getzlaf in their lineup, but if he’s not healthy he won’t play, it’s simple as that.”